Ninja Days
by SnowRabbits
Summary: My first Fanfic; starts at beginning of Naruto. I'll add stuff, keep main events, and change scenes. Collab with Counterattack. Full summary inside. Flames are ok; don't be too harsh, though. Crossover between Naruto and Shugo Chara. SC comes in later.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Ninja Days

**Rating: T**

**Things to Know: **This is a slight AU, but I put in important events, change some scenes, and add my own twists to some things. Flames are ok, just please don't be too harsh. I'm mostly looking for constructive criticism. If this ain't your cup of tea; DON'T READ IT THEN.

**Summary:** Naruto gets convinced by Iruka to go to the academy so that he can fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage. In the process of his "exploration", he will make many friends, enemies, and allies. Naruto will leave to become stronger so that he can bring back a lost friend. His friends and allies will stand behind him the entire way in order for him to reach his dreams. Tobi will also kill everyone's internet.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – First Day at the Ninja Academy<strong>

It was bright and sunny out, and there were many people wandering in the market streets of Konoha: the Leaf Village. Suddenly, there is a blur of orange running through the crowds and a man yelling.

"Naruto! Get back here to clean up this mess!" a man shouted to the orange blur in the busy market streets. The young boy doesn't respond, but just picks up his pace darting past people, trying not to get caught. Most people stopped what they were doing to watch the daily spectacle of Naruto getting chased by the local teacher, Iruka.

Somehow, Naruto shakes Iruka from his trail and makes it to the apartment where he lives by himself. As he closes his door behind him, he trips and falls on all of the junk that litters his floor. All that can be seen as he lays in the trash is a head of spiky blonde hair. He slowly gets up, dusting off his orange jumpsuit. He is a newly-turned 7-year-old that has proud sapphire eyes and cat like whiskers on his pale face.

"I still have to clean this place up," he grumbled, "But, I should eat some instant ramen first." With this decided he proceeded to his relatively normal sized kitchen where he started to boil some water and got out a cup of instant noodles from one of his cabinets. As he ate, he thought back on the events that had just occurred.

_Flashback_

_He had just found some leftover paint near a dumpster; it looked like no one wanted it, so he took it. He formed the dumbest plan in his head, and headed for the Hokage Mountain. Once he managed to climb all the way up there, he started to paint on the rocky surfaces of the mountainside Hokage images. A teacher, Iruka, had seen him doing this as he was leaving from the academy after school. Naruto clambered down the mountain and darted through the crowd, hoping to lose him; he only managed since Iruka had incidentally run into some random villager that happened to be in the market that day. He had gotten really lucky._

_End Flashback_

After he finished eating, Naruto began to clean up his home, throwing away random paper, love letters, wrappers, bottles, and other things into his trash can. He also went to clean his bathroom with cleaner that smelled like lavender flowers.

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><p><strong>Meanwhile…<strong>

A knock sounded on the door.

"Enter," boomed a powerful voice. "What brings you here, Iruka?"

"Hokage-sama, it seems that Naruto has potential to become a great ninja, along with the fact that he has a dream to become the next Hokage," Iruka stated promptly. The Sandaime Hokage nodded his head signaling that he had heard what the other man had said.

"I value your judgment and Minato told me to watch over him, too. I shall arrange it so he may enter the ninja academy starting next Monday. Understood?" the Hokage asked.

"Hai," Iruka affirmed, disappearing immediately with a puff of smoke. The Hokage, pleased, continued with his paperwork, and started thinking about retiring; and the fact that retiring wasn't possible.

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><p><strong>With Iruka…<strong>

Iruka casually walked down the busy streets. It was now about noon, and he had to go and convince Naruto to show up to the academy on Monday; it was currently Friday. Shaking his head, he headed toward the Uchiha compound, knowing that Naruto lived right next door in a fancy apartment that he didn't usually clean. Iruka sighed, and walked up the stairs to the second level of apartments. Reaching Naruto's door, he knocked loud enough for the young boy to hear over whatever he was doing; which, in most cases, probably wasn't much.

Iruka waited a few moments, and from behind the door popped out a bright head of blonde hair. Naruto greeted Iruka and invited him in, his eyes full of curiosity, since the elder man didn't usually come over to visit.

"Naruto, the Hokage wants you to go to a new school," Iruka proposed.

"Iruka-sensei, I don't even like school, let alone am I currently attending one!" Naruto adamantly protested.

"What's your dream, Naruto?" Iruka asked the boy, hoping to get him from a different angle.

"My dream? Why are you asking me, silly? Haven't I told you many times?" Naruto questioned Iruka. "You know that my dream is to become the next Hokage. You know that, so why do you ask me?"

"I ask you so that I can tell you that going to the academy is good. It's the school that I teach at. If you go, it will help you fulfill your dream of becoming Hokage," Iruka answered. After a few moments of silence, and Iruka watching Naruto's facial expressions change as he thought about the offer, the boy spoke.

"I'll take your offer; when do I start?"

Glad that he was able to convince the child, Iruka responded, "You start on this coming Monday."

"What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I hardly have any time left to prepare myself. It's only 2 days before then!" Naruto yelled holding up 3 fingers.

"Your holding up 3 fingers, Naruto," Iruka pointed out.

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><p><strong>A few hours later…<strong>

"Yay! I'm all prepared for school on Monday, all thanks to you, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto cheered. The obnoxious child had somehow roped the teacher into helping him find everything that he would need for school. In all actuality, he only needed a lunch.

"Yea, no problem, Naruto. Later," a weary Iruka stated as he left Naruto's apartment with a wave.

* * *

><p><strong>On Monday…<strong>

Naruto woke up around 5:30, just to make sure he had everything and so he wouldn't be late. It never made a good impression if he showed up late. School started around 7, so he had time to eat his breakfast and walk to the academy. At about 6:53, Naruto arrived and saw that there were many kids standing around with smiles lighting up their faces as they stood next to their parents. When he walked closer to the building, the children stopped smiling as the adults started to glare at him. He didn't know why they didn't like him, but he felt it wasn't fair, so he backed away next to a tree and waited for the bell to ring.

The bell rang and Iruka-sensei ushered the kids inside. He told the class that Naruto was the new kid in the class, and everyone wanted to know why he was starting a month into the academy's school year. They thought that he shouldn't have been there: that he didn't deserve to be there. He was told to sit in between two people named Choji Akimichi and Hinata Hyuuga. Choji was a chubby boy with brown hair that constantly ate snacks, but he got really upset if anyone called him fat. Hinata was a really shy girl with purple hair and white eyes since she had a blood line limit called Byakugan. Naruto started to form a crush on her as the day progressed.

In his class Naruto found out there was Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, Sasuke Uchiha, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. These six kids were all really good friends with Choji and Hinata, and they invited Naruto to eat lunch with them. Naruto sat with Sasuke on his left side and Sakura on his right. Next to Sasuke sat Kiba, then Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino next to Sakura; this completed their circle.

"Ne, Sasuke, you smell like my bathroom," Naruto stated once everyone had finished eating.

"What did you just say, Dobe?" Sasuke asked, angered by what Naruto had just said.

"Nothing, Teme," the blonde replied coolly.

"Dobe,"

"Teme,"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!"

"Sasuke, stop fighting with Naruto, he's our new friend; don't treat him harshly," Sakura broke in, effectively ending the boys' argument over nothing. It was apparent to everyone but Naruto that Sakura had a crush on said boy. Everyone sighed, glad that the atmosphere wasn't as tense anymore. Hinata was blushing and pushing her fingers together as she stole glances at Kiba. This time, everyone but Kiba and Naruto knew how Hinata felt. On the inside, Sasuke was depressed, since Sakura was protecting Naruto and not him. No one knew about his crush on her. If anyone found out, he would be beyond embarrassed.

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><p><strong>At the end of the day, back at Naruto's apartment…<strong>

Naruto felt that his first day had gone very well considering that he had made 8 new friends and had just formed a crush. Plus, Naruto discovered that Sasuke lived right next door to him, so he could walk to and from school with him. Things seemed to take a turn for the better.

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><p>Please Review, 'cause I know you wanna...<p>

Reviews are my inspiration!

No reviews= no new chapters and depressed people

BTW, if you didn't get the pairings, check out my profile page.

- Snow Rabbits out -


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** I'm so sorry for the late update! Counterattack just had so much to do with schoolwork and she plays a lot of basketball (Practices, tournaments and all that jazz). Please don't be mad. I hope that you didn't think that she or I was dead. :P She and I really work together a lot on this.

**Title:** Ninja Days

**Rating:** T

**Things to Know:** This chapter is based from the part in the first anime episode where Mizuki tells Naruto that learning a jutsu from the Secret Scroll would automatically let the said person graduate. Just remember, I never leave a chapter without at least one twist.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 – Graduation<strong>

**At the end of the school year…**

"It's time for the graduation exams," Iruka announced.

"Yay!" the students all cheered. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Ino, and Shikamaru all shared a look after this was done.

"Everyone: line up single file along the front row of desks and wait for me to call your name. This year's test will be on the Cloning Jutsu."

"Noooo! Why did Iruka-sensei have to test us on my worst jutsu?" Naruto complained to his friends. Everyone around him rolled their eyes. Systematically, Iruka tested all of the children; everyone had passed. Finally, it had come to Naruto. He sighed and walked towards Iruka, stopping slightly in front of him. He concentrated hard and formed his hand sign.

Suddenly, a tall, nude, blonde girl with pigtails popped out of a cloud of smoke while blowing a kiss. Everyone in the class started to laugh and Iruka got a nose bleed. "Hah! I got you, Iruka-sensei! That was just my Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto cackled, clearly enjoying the aftermath of his prank.

"No more joking around, Naruto! This isn't a time for pranks when your graduation is on the line!" Iruka exploded, embarrassed and angry. Naruto frowned, and once again formed his hand sign to form the Clone Jutsu. Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke. After it cleared, Naruto was standing there focusing hard, while his clone was very faded and crumpled on the ground anime style.

Mizuki suggested to Iruka, "You know, he has worked hard all throughout this year and has done fairly well considering he had started a month later than everyone else."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mizuki. The ninja world is tough and he needs to be ready for it when the time comes," Iruka answered, rejecting the idea almost immediately. Naruto, feeling sad, looks down at his feet, and walks out of the classroom.

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><p><strong>Later in the afternoon…<strong>

Mizuki and Naruto were sitting on the edge of a cliff somewhere in Konoha, looking into the sunset. "Naruto, do you know why Iruka didn't pass you for the test?" Mizuki asked.

"Yeah. He probably thinks that I'm just some brat that thought he would get his way," Naruto spat out bitterly, feeling disappointed.

"No, that wasn't the reason. He didn't pass you because he didn't think that you were ready to face the horrors of the ninja world just yet. In time, you will. But I know that you have worked really hard this year to get where you are now, so I guess I'll have to let you in on the secret," Mizuki explained.

"There's a secret?"

"Yea, there is. Come here, I'll tell you,"

* * *

><p><strong>With the Hokage and Iruka on the same afternoon…<strong>

"You know how the boy feels, Iruka. He grew up like you, without a mother or a father; without the warmth of a loving family," the Hokage began. "I know that you want to help him, and he _has_ grown, just don't protect him forever. The rose colored glasses that he views the world with will have to come off someday."

"You're right, Hokage-sama. I just don't think that Naruto is ready yet. I think that he can wait another year to graduate; once he's actually ready to become a ninja," Iruka replied.

"I trust your judgment, Iruka, but let's see how this plays out first."

* * *

><p><strong>Later in the evening…<strong>

"Iruka!" Mizuki called, banging on Iruka's apartment door.

Disheveled, Iruka comes out saying, "What is it Mizuki?"

"It's Naruto; he's stolen the Secret Scroll!" Upon hearing this, Iruka's eyes widened and both ninjas took off towards the Hokage Mountain at a fast pace.

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><p><strong>In front of the Hokage Tower with the Hokage…<strong>

"Hokage-sama, it's Naruto! He's stolen the Secret Scroll!" a leaf ninja shouted.

"All right; bring Naruto back here at once," the Sandaime ordered.

"Hai!" they affirmed and scattered, looking for Naruto.

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><p><strong>In a secluded forest…<strong>

"So… Let's see what's inside this scroll here," Naruto said while he slowly opened the scroll. "No way! There's a really difficult jutsu in here that I need to learn: the first one is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Alrighty, it's time to master this thing."

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><p><strong>An hour later in the same forest…<strong>

"Naruto! Oh kami, it's a good thing that I found you first. I don't wanna know what the others might've done to you if they found you before I did. You are in big trouble, though, Naruto," Iruka said.

"But everything's all right, right? Mizuki-sensei said that if someone learned a jutsu from this scroll, they would immediately be allowed to graduate; I've done just that," the young child explained.

"Naruto, you don't understand what that means, do you? If that scroll had landed in enemy hands, the Hidden Leaf Village could've been taken down," the elder man said, trying to reason with the boy.

Mizuki jumped onto a tree branch joining their conversation saying, "Iruka is lying to you, Naruto. So has this whole village; they all have been lying to you since the day you could understand anything they were saying. What people don't want you to know is that you are-"

"Don't say it Mizuki, it's against the decree!" Iruka shouted.

"Ah, yes, the decree. It was made 7 years ago, when you were born, by the Third Hokage himself. It states that no one is to tell you that _you_ are the Nine Tailed Fox's jinchuriki. You are a _monster_,"

Afraid, Naruto took off running with the scroll still strapped across his back. He felt betrayed; to think that he had actually trusted Iruka and the Old Man made him sick. Hot tears streamed down his face, showing how hurt he really was.

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><p><strong>Back with Iruka and Mizuki…<strong>

"Why would you do that, Mizuki?" Iruka asked, glancing back to where Mizuki was standing, only to find that the white-haired man wasn't there anymore. "Damn," Iruka cursed taking off.

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><p><strong>With Naruto…<strong>

Naruto stopped running on the trees' branches, jumping down, and then sat leaning against a tree. Suddenly, he heard voices near where he was. Naruto could distinctly tell that one was Iruka and the other was Mizuki. Listening carefully, he tried to hear what the two were talking about.

"Why are you protecting that monster, Iruka? The Nine-Tailed Fox killed your parents," Mizuki said, trying to turn Iruka to his side.

"Naruto isn't a monster. He has hopes and dreams like the rest of us, Mizuki. He tries his hardest to get people to notice and respect him. For that, I believe that Naruto isn't a monster. Therefore, I choose to protect him," Iruka stated firmly.

Mizuki pulled out a giant shuriken (**AN: **I don't know what they're called soooo…. Yeah.) and prepared to throw it at Iruka while saying, "Well, I guess that this is the end then for you, Iruka." Mizuki slung the blade at Iruka, but it never hit the dark haired man.

"If you ever, _ever_, try to hurt Iruka-sensei again, I swear: I _will_ kill you," Naruto stated as the giant shuriken slowly stopped spinning on his wrist, where he had caught it to save Iruka.

"I'd like to see you try, kid," Mizuki challenged.

"Ok, then. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly, hundreds of Naruto clones popped out of a cloud of smoke and surrounded the trio.

"No way," Iruka whispered to himself. "These aren't illusions, these are solid Naruto clones. I'm impressed with how Naruto mastered that difficult jutsu."

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><p><strong>Entering the forest…<strong>

Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino ran into the forest; they had heard about what Naruto had done and had wanted to make sure that nothing bad had happened to him.

Out of the blue, the seven kids heard, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Come this way you guys! I think that Naruto is this way," Sakura directed, sprinting in the direction she heard the yelling from. Everyone followed her, and they were able to see the clearing where Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki were. Along with all of the Naruto clones, too, of course.

"Wow," Sakura breathed with hearts in her eyes, swooning. Sasuke was upset that he was losing Sakura to Naruto, but he had to admit that the blonde boy's demonstration was impressive: hundreds of solid Naruto clones was a sight to see.

* * *

><p><strong>Down in the clearing with Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki…<strong>

"For what you tried to do, you must pay, Mizuki! Charge!" Naruto exclaimed. All of a sudden, hundreds of Naruto clones started to pounce on Mizuki, trying to beat him up. After a few minutes, Naruto dispersed the jutsu, and went to check out his handiwork.

"It looks like I went a bit overboard, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Iruka sighed and shook his head and then said, "You sure did, Naruto. Now, close your eyes." Naruto's curiosity was piqued, but did as Iruka requested. "Open your eyes now." The young boy opened his eyes to see that Iruka didn't have his headband on anymore. He patted his head to find that he had the Konoha nameplate there instead of his goggles. "Congratulations! You graduate!"

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><p><strong>The next day, back in the Hokage's office, inside the Hokage tower…<strong>

"Here's the scroll, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, handing the scroll to the Hokage.

"Thanks, Iruka. Do you know if he learned the most important secret?" Sarutobi asked.

"No, he doesn't know anything beside the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the fact that he's the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. I asked him what he learned from the scroll; that's why I know."

"Good, good. I'm glad that he didn't learn the recipe to Ichiraku's ramen. That would've ended in a disaster."

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><p>I hope that that was original and that you will forgive me for the lateness of this chapter.<p>

Please review; they are my inspiration and part of my life.

No reviews = no next chapter :P

-SnowRabbits out-


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** I'm so sorry that I didn't update last week. It was just kinda hectic and I really needed my help on this one from Counterattack. That is why I couldn't update my story, either. Please forgive me! T-T

**Title:** Ninja Days

**Rating:** T

**Things to know:** This chapter will be about how the genin teams are selected. It will also include Kakashi's introduction to everyone and his warning about food. Enjoy…?

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Kakashi's Test<strong>

**With Naruto and Sasuke walking to the Academy…**

It was the Monday after Naruto stole the Secret Scroll. The sun was out shining and the village's population of civilians was out doing what they usually did: nothing that is really important for you to know about. Anyway, the last stoic Uchiha in the Leaf Village was walking towards the Academy with an obnoxious blonde boy.

"Hey, Teme, which teams do you think we're going to be on?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged and opted not to answer the other boy.

* * *

><p><strong>At the Academy…<strong>

The jinchuriki pouted, and the duo arrived at their classroom a few minutes later. Walking in, the two boys realized they were the last ones to get there and sat in their assigned seats. After a few moments of tense, awkward silence, Iruka walked in with a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Okay, everyone, I'm here. Like I said last week, I'll be assigning the teams today. Here goes nothing," Iruka said, preparing himself.

"Team Asuma: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi." The three aforementioned students were not shocked.

"Team Kurenai: Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuuga." Hinata blushed, but didn't say anything.

"Team Kakashi: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki."

"Iruka-sensei, why do I have to be paired up with Teme?" Naruto shouted while pointing at Sasuke. The Uchiha sweatdropped and laid his head in his folded hands.

"Simple, Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura got the best grades in class while you got the worst. I paired you up with them in hopes that you might learn something useful from them. You might be able to teach them a thing or two yourself," Iruka replied.

"You suck, Iruka-sensei," Naruto pouted.

"I'd rather not know what he sucks…" Kiba whispered to Hinata from behind her. She blushed and giggled, attracting Iruka's attention.

"What's so funny, Hinata?" Iruka inquired.

"N-n-nothing, I-Iruka-sensei," Hinata stuttered out.

"You'd better hope so," he warned and turning to Kiba he said, "I'll see you after class." The Inuzuka groaned but didn't say anything. Now addressing the class he said, "Everyone wait here, the jonin that will be your sensei should be here shortly." Iruka then left the room.

* * *

><p><strong>A few hours later…<strong>

Everyone except three students was gone. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were still waiting for their sensei to arrive.

"Why isn't he here yet?" Naruto complained.

"Be patient, Dobe," Sasuke stated.

"Be nice to Naruto, Sasuke," Sakura scolded.

"Ha! I have an idea," Naruto claimed as he walked towards the chalkboard in the front of the room. Grabbing the eraser, he went to the sliding door and pulled it open only slightly. The gap was just big enough for the eraser to fit inside (**AN:** That doesn't sound right…). Naruto backed away from the door just as it started to open.

A head of wild, spiky silver hair popped into the room and the eraser hit said hair. The jonin arrival watched as the eraser fell to the floor and the cloud of dust disappeared from around him.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed, praising himself for setting up such a good trick.

"_Cha! Perfect shot!" _ Sakura cheered inwardly.

"Class clowns are always the weakest links," the jonin stated. "Follow me; we're going to start our training as a team." The trio of genin followed their sensei out of the room and towards their new meeting spot, with Naruto at the back, sputtering at what their sensei had said.

* * *

><p><strong>At the bridge…<strong>

The jonin was sitting on the bridge's railing with the genin standing across from him. Looking over them, he studied their appearances and facial expressions. Naruto was oblivious to everything around him and kept asking when they would start training. The boy was very impatient. Sakura was constantly stealing glances at the fox-boy. Another love-struck girl to deal with. Sasuke glared at everyone, but when he turned to face Sakura, his eyes softened imperceptibly. Usual cool and dark act. All of these facts were determined within a span of 3 seconds. One second for each of his new team. The jonin decided to get the ball rolling and start the conversation. He sighed and his genin looked at him immediately.

"Alright, why don't we get to know each other better?" the elder man offered. "Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future."

"Well, we technically know each other," Sakura said pointing to Naruto, Sasuke and herself. "but we don't know you, and you don't know us. So, you start to give us an example of what you want us to say."

"Fine," their sensei complied. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes; I don't really know. Dislikes; same thing. Hobbies; I enjoy reading. Dreams for the future; I haven't really thought about it." Sakura's eyebrow started to twitch as she listened to what he was saying. All he basically told them was his name and that he enjoyed reading.

"Oh, my turn, my turn!" Naruto exclaimed. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I really like ramen, especially Ichiraku's. I also like instant ramen. I don't like how you have to boil the water and wait ten minutes for the instant noodles to cook though. My hobby is eating ramen. In the future, I will be the next Hokage; believe it!"

"Okay, I guess I'll go next, then," Sakura said. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…" she didn't finish her sentence because she started to giggle and look at Naruto. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in displeasure at her actions. "I dislike you, Kakashi-sensei, but maybe you might be able to change that. My hobbies; dreaming about beating you to a pulp, sensei. Finally, dreams for the future. I want to help my friends accomplish their goals as long as they don't leave my side."

"Hn. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like anything in particular. I hate a certain someone. My hobbies include entertaining interesting thoughts," Sasuke said while glancing at Sakura through his peripheral vision. "I don't dream to kill the person I hate; I know that they will be dead by my hand." Kakashi's visible eye twitched slightly at Sasuke's claim.

"Okay. Everyone meet me here tomorrow at 5 AM sharp. And don't eat breakfast." Kakashi announced. Sakura was about to ask a question when Kakashi cut her off. "Unless, of course, you would like to throw up." With that, Kakashi poofed away before anyone could say anything.

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><p>I know that its kinda shorter than it usually is by, like, 700 words or something like that. I just want to be able to start writing Chapter 4 for all those patient readers out there.<p>

Although you might not think so, I do enjoy seeing that people have read my story. So, go and tell all of your little friends about it; it would make me so happy.

Also, don't forget to review. Those reviews are like my life source. Don't deprive me.

Flames are okay, just be nice, though. I love you all!

-Snow Rabbits out-


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